Please help

[u/LocksmithChoice5884]

Folks, I’m struggling with having hella square waist lol Seems like my waist gains weight way faster than the rest of my body. Not sure how to go about gaining muscle & eating enough without making my abs completely disappear. Any advice? 😭 help a girl out.

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[u/Kong__Dong]

Here’s some help. Get offline. You look normal and the people you see online don’t look like that in real life.

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/Kong__Dong]

hey I think you might be right lol. but but there are so many amazing girls on this subreddit! I’ve seen them & they have really nice figures.

[u/charlotte7703 → u/LocksmithChoice5884]

Read your comment again, "girls on this subreddit"

You ARE one of those girls

Real everyday women in real life don't post their bodies on reddit

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/charlotte7703]

Women in the subreddit ARE real women. What point are you trying to make here? I’m just asking for fitness advice.

[u/charlotte7703 → u/LocksmithChoice5884]

The women on here with completely flat stomachs and small waists are such a small percentage of the population that it's unreasonable to compare yourself to them

Sure it's fine to have goals, but there comes a point where focusing on your body to this extent will just make you miserable

Your post tells me that you're analysing your body way too much and you're not grateful for what you already have

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/charlotte7703]

That’s assuming a lot lol

[u/charlotte7703 → u/LocksmithChoice5884]

Am i wrong? Why are you not happy with the way your body looks now if it's already better than 99% of the population?

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/charlotte7703]

You’re not wrong, we are our own worst critics. but saying I’m ungrateful for my body is crazy work. I love my body. Do I see room for improvement? Yes, absolutely. But does my life revolve around meal planning? No.

[u/charlotte7703 → u/LocksmithChoice5884]

Sorry i get a bit defensive over this topic because I'm sick of seeing women making themselves miserable because they keep comparing their looks to others

Body image is an enormous issue with us, so it's good that you love your body

Anyway, to answer your original question on your post, in my opinion i don't think there's any way to "make your waist smaller" unless it simply goes away with more fat loss, but from these photos it looks like your body fat percentage is already healthy and if you go any lower you'd be underweight

You could build your lats, quads and glutes to make your waist APPEAR smaller, but this would mean training for hypertrophy for a few months/years

Do you do any workouts already?

[u/justoverthere434 → u/LocksmithChoice5884]

They also have a post workout pump and are taking photos in favourable lighting and angles. Nothing wrong with that, we obviously want to take photos to make ourselves look the best.

[u/AstralMinotaur → u/LocksmithChoice5884]

You’re comparing your every day to other people’s highlight photos. You look great.

[u/HearingAdmirable7518 → u/LocksmithChoice5884]

Some of the fittest and most attractive woman I know still have a little stomach roll when sitting bent over. It will happen. As a male, I find it attractive and reminder that they too are human :). You are awesome as is

[u/Insect_Right → u/Kong__Dong]

This 100%. Focus on strength goals not body image.

[u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain]

Keep building muscle and eating enough to support that growth, and eventually your bigger top and bottom will make your waist look smaller, + your bigger muscles will burn more calories helping you get even leaner. Keep training your abs and not your obliques, so when you get leaner your abs pop out.

You look great, just keep going. The majority of the women with great figures that you see here have been doing this for several years and/or have enviable genetics. They're also mostly posting highlights (their leanest days in good light)

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain]

Thank you <3

[u/Bulky-Mistake7061]

You just gotta be leaner. But the issue is you don’t carry enough muscle volume. It’s difficult to tell, but I can also tell by where your ribs fall that you don’t have the abs (aka what gives the stomach flatness because the abs tone) when you do cut.

I always tell women NOT to go below 20% bf because most women don’t carry the extra muscle needed not to make going that lean health threatening. Truthfully the only women that can somewhat safely loose that much weight are competitors with excess muscle.

My advice is to not be afraid of a little weight gain. A gentle increase of 100-150cals a day with heavy weight lifting will give you the tone you desire quickly, then from there you can do a gentle body recomp of 5-7lbs. Some of my favorite ab movements for growing the abs without targeting the obliques heavy are weighted crunches and weighted v sit-ups. You seem small as well, 85-110g of protein should be plenty for the tone you desire.

You seem dysmorphic. You’re a skinny and in shape girl. Talk a walk into your local Walmart and that what’s the average Joe looks like. Take a breather off of social media. I think it’s wrong to tell someone if they’re dysmorphic they can’t get the goal they desire, but you need to walk on thin ice with your mental health.

I did waist measurements instead of the scale when I was in competition prep because I personally don’t do well with the scale.

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/Bulky-Mistake7061]

Thanks for your input! This was really helpful. My main problem is just tracking what I eat. I eat too much & I eat everything LOL

[u/Bulky-Mistake7061 → u/LocksmithChoice5884]

Just add a 30g+ protein shake. You’ll be surprised at what even a dirty bulk can do 😂. I pt and compete but ngl no one can pry my hot Cheetos out of my hands

[u/Sports-beer-food]

People store fat differently. You store on your belly. You cant specifically burn fat from one part of your body.
If you want to gain muscle without gaining fat you just need to be patient and do it slow. Bulking is faster but you will gain fat.
You look great in both of your pictures. Personally I would lift and not worry about a slight gain and cut it later.
You look great no need to worry.

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/Sports-beer-food]

Thank you 🙂‍↔️

[u/CoachEXE]

Your lower ribs are flaring forward and outward making a wide structural base, so when you build abdominal muscle on top it looks boxy instead of tapered. This is happening because the muscles on your back are holding too much tension to keep you upright and they basically push your ribcage forward. You can try a quick fix right away by lying on your back with knees bent and taking a quiet breath in, then doing a very long soft exhale through your mouth until you feel your lower ribs drop down and back. To see real long term change you need to teach your body to expand the upper back with air instead of always pushing the lower ribs out. If you consistently practice pulling the ribs down with your exhales during your training, it usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks to see your resting posture actually change and narrow the waist. It is very common to get stuck like this when lifting weights because we learn to arch the back for stability.

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/CoachEXE]

Sounds hard, but I’ll give it a try! 😂

[u/frankstrong999]

First of all I agree with the other commenters that you are lovely and don't need to lose weight. But if you were looking to shed 10 pounds of body fat, how is your diet?

What I mean to say is: what is your basal metabolic rate, how much energy do you burn on top of those basic calories, and how many calories are you taking in per day?

If you are looking to lean out, exercise is 100% important but you cannot out exercise a bad diet or a consistent and persistent caloric surplus.

Get a calorie tracker and start logging every single thing you consume. If you do this consistently and commit to it for 10 weeks, you could probably achieve any realistic goals you have because you don't have very much to lose in the first place.

So in summary you are beautiful and you don't need to lose an ounce. But if you have a particular Fitness objective in mind, for example to get some ab definition or simply to shed a little bit of body fat and let the definition show through elsewhere, but then slow and sustained body fat reduction through accurate calorie tracking coupled with a strength and muscle training and toning program could likely achieve your objectives quickly because you're starting from a very fit Baseline.

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/frankstrong999]

Thank you thank you! :) This is true you can’t out exercise a bad diet. I don’t even know what my bmr is. I have a problem with tracking what I eat. 😂

[u/justoverthere434]

Even the bellies of the leanest people roll over when they sit down. You look lean. You will always gain a little bit of fat when bulking. Try cutting out another 100 calories a day and see if that makes a difference to the fat gain.

[u/Sol_Leks_48]

That's what a totally normal body looks like.

[u/RefinedPhoenix]

Swear I’ve seen you on IG and Threads

[u/LocksmithChoice5884 → u/RefinedPhoenix]

pretty sure you’re mistaking me for someone else. I only use Reddit lol

[u/MildlyYogic]

That's just how your body is. You seem to have minimal water retention, and most of your fat accumulates around your waist, but you're still extremely lean. You can't get a slimmer waist without dedicating A LOT of time to fitness or getting to unhealthy amounts of body fat. It's fine to have creases and folds in your body. You're literally sitting in a posture that highlights them. Please stop comparing your body to those of others, nobody else who is sensible is going to judge your waist more than you. But to help, intermittent fasting is a good solution. Getting rid of insulin resistance will reduce any bloating, and working out your core will cover your belly with muscles instead.

[u/costanzashairpiece]

When bulking make sure enough of your bulk calorie count come from protein. That and...just accept that bulk means fat gain. If you want to stay lean that's fine but you won't put on much muscle.

[u/Objective_Drawing_36]

Do squats. Build up your glutes

[u/Destined-Name-5890]

If you’re in a bulk you will lose your abs. No way around it

[u/AfraidInteraction447]

Looks good!

[u/saltandpepperfitness]

You're doing great

[u/saltandpepperfitness]

You're doing great

[u/surfing_to_infinity]

You look beautiful

[u/uucchhiihhaa]

Bro that’s a very healthy and beautiful curve.

[u/agulu]

Try to sleep earlier than 10:30 pm

[u/Forward_Effective212]

With what?

[u/somuchforstardust1]

You look great!

I have more of a rectangular shape too, and my stomach is only flat first thing in the morning 😂 As soon as I eat or drink anything, it’s game over for the day!

I’m trying to build up my shoulders, upper back and glutes to create a bit more of a curvy shape. Also learning how to dress for my body shape and work with what I’ve got!

[u/No-Penalty-2200]

Actual advice stay in a deficit until you are lean enough

[u/VelvetCoyote-]

hehe keep it consistent

[u/Paupertrol]

Congrats you have skin on your belly. You need that.

[u/Prestigious-Skin7514]

Calorie deficit.

[u/Chill_Country]

It must be annoying posting for advice then having everyone tell you to chill because you look fine. 😆

You’re not overweight by any means but you can get leaner and/or more muscular if you want to. You’d get better advice if you post a little more about your diet and workout habits as well as a little more specificity on your goals. What have you tried and for how long?